/
Unwilling to give up, I pulled the lever again and again without correcting the puzzle, but still, no monsters appeared.
I didn’t want to admit it, but there was no room for doubt now.
In the world, it seems like the infinite generation of monsters by traps doesn’t seem to be possible.
[H- However, this means that we can try the trapdoor’s gimmick without any worries! Let’s do our best to find the clue to the puzzle

]
I silently rotated the relief carvings, and aligned the pattern with the “snake, lion, bird, and the cracked carving (It’s damaged so you can’t see what’s carved on it, but it’s supposed to have the sun pattern”, and pulled the lever.
Thereupon, the door opened.
[Y- Yeah

]
Ignoring Nuku’s perplexed voice, I just quietly thought about the cause of this incident.
Why was the infinite grind through trap activation not possible here in this world?
I don’t know the cause.


However, I can imagine why.
First of all, there’s very little chance that the EXP grind method had been destroyed by an update from itself.
One assumption is that if this world was created based on “the game I had” or “my memories”, it would be strange to have any more additional factors in it.
But more importantly, the developer of B&B went bankrupt soon after announcing the 5th DLC.
It’s almost certain that what I was playing was the latest version of B&B.
If so, it’s possible that the specifications were changed by “God” when this world was transformed from a game to reality.
There have already been previous cases, such as climbing a wall, where something that was restricted by the game specifications in B&B became possible in the real world.
This is a benefit of the game becoming a reality, but the game becoming a reality could also go the other way around.
In short, I hypothesize that “things that were possible in games but not in reality” would be plucked off in this world.
That trap is probably a mechanism where “if you make a mistake in this trap, the monsters hidden in the ground will jump out”.
That’s why the phenomenon that “monsters spring out infinitely every time you step on the trap, which occurs only in the game, is extremely unnatural from a realistic point of view.
Therefore, that would explain, to some extent, if it was modified to “enemies would spring out only once” in this world.
No, there have been many unnatural things in the past, but this time, I think it means that this infinite grind trick already crosses the “acceptable line”.
(How much is safe and how much is out?  The scary part is that I don’t know where that line is drawn

)
""
Though I say that, I have spent more than a month in this world so far, and this is the only time that the game’s specifications didn’t work.
Blindly trusting game knowledge had its dangers, but I suppose we can verify this without being too nervous.
[

I guess that’s that.]
[Nii-san?]
All I know at the moment is that the “infinite grind by using traps”  can’t be used.
It’s still too early to give up.
Raising my gaze, I declared to the puzzled Radd and his party.
[We’re not going to explore this dungeon anymore. Let’s move to the next place!]
Like hell I would let myself stumble here!
This time, I will make sure the infinite grind will succeed!
※　※　※
[Are you sure we’re in the right dungeon?]
Resilia, who had cut down monsters with a single slash, asked me that.
The dungeon we moved to is called the , a dungeon with a recommended level of seven.
It’s the kind of place where Adventurers who have cleared a beginner’s dungeon would normally come next, and of course, the enemies here can be defeated by everyone here with a single shot, and even if they defeated the monsters here, they don’t provide any EXP.
[Yeah. What we’re aiming for this time is a “Secret Boss”.]
[Secret Boss?]
It seems like the concept of Secret Bosses isn’t very popular in this world.
[I’m talking about a hidden enemy with a strength that doesn’t fit the dungeon.]
Saying that, I advanced along with the others while mowing down the enemies.
Considering the beginners following me, it would have been better not to defeat too many monsters, but we might have to go through this place many times.
Apologizing to them in my heart, I mercilessly crushed the monsters in our path and reached the dead end of a side road.
[Is this

 a grave?]
Stuck there was a cross with a crown of flowers on it.
A large metal cross is propped up against the ground, like some kind of grave marker.
I approached the cross without hesitation.
[O- Old man!?]
Tightly gripping the cross in both hands, I rotated it.
As I rotated it one revolution to the left and twice to the right, I heard a click, and the ground behind the cross made a noise.
[A- A hidden staircase

]
While Radd and the others were surprised, I strode down the staircase.
At the end of the stairs is a large circular room, in the center of which stands a knight in full body armor.
That is our target this time.
Looking into its empty eye sockets, reflecting nothing back, I used .
*insert enemy stat board – knight of sorrows*
The corners of my lips naturally turned up at the sight of this Status.
Standing before us was the most powerful enemy since the .
※　※　※
When I went down the stairs and met the knight’s eyes, Radd’s body tensed up, as if his body was paralyzed, and he timidly looked at me.
[O- Old man. Even I can tell. This guy’s pretty strong, aren’t they?]
[That monster over there is a Secret Boss after all. If we talk about Status, it’s a few levels higher than the Boss of the we went to earlier.]
Radd gulped.
[Don’t worry. They won’t attack unless you enter the room, and they don’t have a long-range attack. You’ll be safe here.]
In the end, this is a beginner dungeon.
It’s not set up to run over players who just happened to find the hidden passageway without question.
He only attacks at close range, and his movement speed is slow.
Even if you accidentally get close to it, you can safely escape by leaving the room and leaving the combat state.
[And besides

]
While I explained that to them, I switched the rings I’m wearing on my fingers to “VIT”-oriented ones.
I don’t intend to let myself get hit by its attacks, but it’s still better to have a safety margin in case of any unforeseen accidents.
[There’s no need for you guys to fight that guy.]
[Eh

?]
[This guy is famous for summoning a Lv 30 when their HP falls to a half and a quarter. Everyone’s target this time would be defeating those summons and raising your level.]
As I said this, Resilia, who had been watching the situation quietly, vigorously interrupted, looking as if she was about to snap.
[You intend to fight that thing alone!? I won’t let you

]
[No way. I won’t fight it. I will just escape from its reach and run around in circles.]
[Eh

?]
I moved forward, passing by the side of Resilia, who looked blankly at me.
[Well, you’ll see if what I said works or not. I shouldn’t be in any danger, but if there is, it wouldn’t be too late for you to come and help.]
With that, I step into the circular room.
""
Thereupon, the knight standing in the center of the room, their eyes letting out a gloomy light, slowly swung the sword in their hand to the side.
[It seems like they’re ready for battle.]
This would be the first life-and-death battle I’ve had for a while.
My heart beats faster with a pleasant tension.
(I guess I’ll give it a try.)
I pulled out a Molotov cocktail from my inventory and tossed it at the knight.
As my throw doesn’t miss and hits the knight, their body is engulfed in flames


[

Well, I knew this would happen.]
But the knight didn’t move an inch.
With the gloomy light within its eyes, it simply stepped towards me as if the flames of the molotov didn’t leave them any scratch.
That happening is something I expected.
If this Secret Boss had the same setting as in the game, long-range attacks won’t work on this guy.
You would have to stand in this guy’s arena, and fight them in a close combat match.
The only way to subdue this knight is to engage in a desperate melee battle.
(If that’s the case

)
I will just move as I planned.
Keeping my distance without panicking, I waited for the opponent to move.
The knight approached my way step by step.
If you are caught off guard by their slow movement here and get within range of their sword, you will certainly be hit by a slash that will wake you up.
That’s why, I will not underestimate this guy.
I watch the knight cautiously, and when they come close to a certain distance, I run away by circling the perimeter.
Thereupon, the knight will slowly approach me, and I will circle around the perimeter again to keep my distance before their sword gets within range.
Such a pattern repeated over and over, tens and hundreds of times, and then


————–Just like that, an hour had passed.
※　※　※
(

I think it’s about time?)
My body moving with a sense of purpose, I lead the armored knight to the back.
Then, just after I reached the innermost wall, it happened.
[Ohhh

 Urwwwooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
The knight raised their sword with a frightening yell.
(———–Now’s the time!)
This was the only opening the knight would show.
Running by the knight’s side, I cut through their line of sight and moved behind them.
I am tempted to strike the knight in the back, but I won’t be able to damage them during their “Summoning Motion”.
I shook off the temptation and walked back to where Radd and the others were waiting, and there, I turned around to see that the knight was still in its Summoning Motion with their back to us.
I fire my Decoy Gun so that it catches the guy’s attention, and there, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
With this, we finally have some time for conversation.
[W- What in the world is going on?]
[Look.]
Radd asked, to which I pointed toward the knight.
There, at this moment, the had brought forth a magic circle on the ground, from which a was about to be summoned.
[————–Spawn Generation, success!!!]
This is the “infinite grind” secret plan I thought about!
If the idea of infinitely generating monsters springing out of the ground is considered unnatural, then why not try a more natural way to generate the number of monsters?
This is the method I had come up with.
The summon squires when their HP decreases, once when their HP becomes half and once when their HP is a quarter, and even if they regain HP, they will not be summoned again.
However, there’s one more condition under which the would summon his squires.
————–That is when they’re “in a combat state for an hour”.
Since it’s quite easy to run away from the knight, even a novice player who can’t even damage the knight can keep on fighting it.
However, since the battle won’t end indefinitely, perhaps to bring about a requiem to those players who want to cheese this knight, squires would be summoned each hour the battle drags on.
(T/N: Cheesing means you employ a cheap tactic to complete a task without much trouble. Without the summons, you can slowly trickle away the knight’s HP with its 0 DEX stats.)
Unlike the HP condition, there’s no limit to the number of squires it summons, so just by running around like this, the number of enemies it spawns would rapidly increase, and you would be able to defeat any number of them!
[For the time being, I’ll wait another hour and see what happens. If it summons a squire again, the experiment will be a complete success

]
With a big smile on my face, I turned toward the others


[Well, what a good job we did today. I mean, we already leveled-up.]
[Yes. Fighting all those higher-leveled monsters gave us juicy EXP.]
[I can’t wait to take a bath.]
But talking about such things, Radd and the others looked like they were returning above ground.
[Eh, wait, eh

?]
I looked at Mana, the last remaining conscience of Radd’s party, and perhaps feeling my gaze, she flinched, and looked at me and her party members several times


[E- Errr, ummm

 W- When we get back, let’s have a consolation party!]
She bowed her head and walked up the stairs after Radd and the others.
As I was stunned at her response, Resilia came in front of me.
As expected, at the end of the day, it is only my little sister whom I can rely on.
[Thank goodness. Resilia, help me convince them too

]
When I called out to her, Resilia sweetly smiled at me


[———–Come on now. Let’s go home, Nii-san.]
——-and grabbing me by my collar, she started dragging me to the stairs.
[Hey, w- wait! We can spawn out enemies, generate infinite amounts of them

]
[Please stop with the stupidity. You have a lot of work to do, Nii-san. If you waste hours in a place like this, the Guildmaster will scold you again.]
I tried to shake her hand off, but the fact that what I’m wearing now were VIT-oriented rings turned out to be a disaster.
Even though I resisted her quite earnestly, Resilia’s hand didn’t move a twitch.
Helplessly being dragged along like a kitten in the mouth of its mother, my body climbed up the stairs in no time at all.
Before long, we caught up with Radd’s party who had been moving ahead of us.
[Old man

 You know, even though he’s so smart, he had times like these when he’s being an idiot.]
[Mhmm. That’s rude, Radd. Rex is cute that way.]
Receiving warm gazes from Radd’s party for some reason, I was forcibly dragged away from the dungeon.
And thus, just one more step to fruition, the “Second Infinite Grind Operation” ended up being postponed.